Tuesday 20th January

(Covering the last 24 hours)

At sunrise yesterday we noticed that one of the outrigger plates was bent. This is a solid piece of steel, and it had deformed as a result of the knockdown the night before. It really brings home the power of the ocean. How the oar itself and the plastic oar gate survived unharmed while a steel plate bent is genuinely astonishing.

🔧 A Mid-Ocean Repair

We set to work straight away replacing the plate — thankfully we carry spares for virtually everything on board.

In a workshop, this would be a simple job: remove the bolts, take off the old plate, fit the new one, replace the bolts. Out here, in rolling seas, it becomes a very delicate operation.

You can’t put anything down on deck — it will almost certainly end up overboard. Dropping a bolt, washer, or spanner into the ocean is a very real risk when the boat is constantly moving beneath you.

I kept referring to it as an operation, and that’s exactly what it felt like. Paul took on the role of surgeon, calmly requesting tools — “spanner… bolt… Allen key” — while I acted as scrub nurse, holding and safeguarding every item not currently in use. Nothing moved unless it absolutely had to.

It took about an hour, purely because of how methodical we were being — but the result was perfect.

✅ Not a single item lost to the sea

✅ New plate fitted

✅ Back in action

A very satisfying job well done.

🌊 Settling Back In

The wind has stayed with us, but thankfully the sea state has eased, with far less coming at us from the side. That made for a really enjoyable evening shift running into the night.

It was also a relief to finally get into a dry cabin and sleeping bag.

💦 The Other Casualty

Another victim of the knockdown was my cabin.

There’s a vent at the bottom of the door — essential for airflow so you don’t suffocate when sealed inside, and also vital if you ever need to bilge with the external pump. Without airflow, pumping would just create a vacuum.

Normally, the vent’s shape and position prevent water ingress. But when tonnes of water are rushing past, some inevitably forces its way in. The vent sits just above my sleeping bag, which meant I got thoroughly drenched, with a fair amount of water sloshing around the bottom of the cabin.

I did my best to deal with it during the night, but the main dry-out operation had to wait until daylight so I could get everything out on deck and let the sun do its thing. Another reason I was grateful for the calmer conditions — there was a very real risk everything could have ended up wetter than when I started.

Everything is now dry… mostly.

Once sea water gets into fabric, until it’s properly washed down, it always retains a slightly salty, damp feel. It makes us very much look forward to arriving in Antigua, stripping the boat out completely, and giving her a proper fresh-water wash.

🌩️ Night Visitors

Last night was a good run on the oars. We had a yacht pass by, and as soon as we spotted the lights we both said in unison:

“Not bloody Jake again!!!”

He spent a fair bit of time tracking us and popping up at night a week or so ago, so it’s become a running joke. In reality, he’s still not too far behind and is doing an awesome job out here.

We also had more sheet lightning off to starboard — far enough away not to be a concern, just another impressive light show courtesy of the Atlantic.

🌅 Final Thought

Days like this are a reminder that success out here isn’t about brute strength alone — it’s about preparation, teamwork, calm decision-making, and respecting the ocean. You fix what needs fixing, learn from what happened, and then you keep moving forward.

One stroke at a time.

Dawn

“Together Paul and I are rowing home — the long way round.”

Hometown Row

Leg 1 – La Gomera to Antigua

Leg 2 – Antigua to Florida

Leg 3 – Canada to the UK

📩 You can have Dawn’s blogs delivered directly to your inbox here:

👉 https://dawn2609.substack.com/

🌐 Or visit the website: www.rowaurora.co.uk